Convicts and bonnets

The craft group I belong to are making Convict Bonnets as part of a living sculpture called "Roses from the Heart".

Conceptual artist and Artist in Residence at the Cascades Female Factory, Hobart, Tasmania and Christina Henri have designed this as a tribute to the convict women of Australia.

The "Roses from the Heart" project aims to have 25,566 bonnets made, one for every woman transported to Australia between 1788 and 1846 when tranportation ceased.  To date about 20,500 have been collected from all over the world.   Many of the bonnets already made have been adorned with a convict woman's name, the ship in which she arrived and the date of arrival.

This link will give you more information. 

http://www.christinahenri.com.au/index.php?/ongoing/roses-from-the-heart/

There are 3 convicts in our family from my husband's side (must have been a bad lot! LOL) however they were all male so to honour a convict woman on my bonnet I have chosen a person with the same surname.  She was Elizabeth Double who was sentenced to transportation on 14 January 1818 and sailed in the "Maria" to Sydney in NSW.  She was in Sydney until 1820 when she was sent to Tasmania and shipped on the "Princess Charlotte" to Hobart. 

It's been a really interesting exercise for me to check out not only this woman but the three rellies who were sentenced two years apart - Joseph in 1842, Edward in 1844 and John in 1846.  Although from the same family name of 'Double's', none were directly related however Edward was a nephew of Joseph.

It's hard to imagine what life must have been like in those days - so hard - most of the crimes punishable by transportation then, would not even rate a mention today - although one of the above was charged and sentenced for arson - burning down a barn of hay! 

Some of the records make interesting reading!

Blessings!

Christmas craft chit chat

For the past couple of weeks I've been slowly getting my Christmas cards made. This year I've used a Cuttlebug Christmas tree embossing folder and a cute little Magnolia stamp.  Now for the best part - writing inside them and sending them off. 

Has been a hot day here in old Sydney town.  Got to 32 degrees with brilliant sun. Not even a sign of storm clouds in the sky - but I won't hold my breath as they are predicted for Monday.

As long as it cools off a little, I will bake my Christmas cake though so I'm really hoping for another few days of clouds and rain.  I'm really late in making it this year as normally it would be baked in October however being away then, it didn't get done.

With the sunshine predicted for the next couple of days, I got out into the garden this morning with the spray bottle of weed killer and spent a couple of hours finding those that had sprung up in the past few weeks.  The past two Saturday's DH has done a great job and pulled out heaps of them which had grown down one side of our boundary.  I just followed up today to try to avoid them springing up again too quickly. 

Tomorrow the two littlest grandies are coming for lunch. They have swimming lessons in the morning so their mum will bring them here when they've finished.  They love to get here especially when 'Grumps' is home from work.

Till next time - blessings! 

WIP and Halloween

Have been battling some king of flu bug for the past week and feeling rather under the weather. Sore throat, aches and pains etc etc. Went to the doctor Friday just to get it checked out - came home with a script for an antibiotic in case it turned into some kind of bacterial infection. Feeling still poorly, and it being such a beautiful day in Sydney town yesterday I sat outdoors and took my current cross stitch piece.  I had taken it with me to NZ hoping while mum was in hospital I'd have 'plenty' of time to get some done - little did I know I'd be well occupied with other activities!

Anyway, had taken another photo of the piece prior to continuing with it yesterday so I've included it here to show where I'm up to.

Today has dawned warmer than normal but we are heading for rain by midday and this will continue for the rest of the week.  Whoever the long range forecaster was who told us a couple of months ago that we'd have rain right until Christmas is proving to be correct.  Normally at this time of the year we have quite dry weather but not at present.

October 31 today - doubt if we'll be having any little trick or treating visitors tonight.  There has been a certain reluctance on the part of Ozzie's to get too involved in this kind of activity however there is certainly a huge amount of stuff in the shops egging people on to buy, decorate, and go all out for Halloween this year. 

The two littlest grandies had a school Halloween disco and bbq last Friday night.  Apparently it was a good night for the kids but all eldest E7 got from it was a good head cold!  Boo-ey!

For all of you who do celebrate Halloween - have an exciting one!

Blessings!



ANOTHER FOGGY WINTERS DAY

I've been trying to think of something brilliantly intelligent to write here but nothing comes to mind. Although I enjoy winter more than summer usually, I find it's less inspiring for taking photos and doing interesting things. Yesterday I did my 2 weekly stint at the information centre and boy, was it slow! The day was dull and cold so guess nobody much was interested in making a visit - afterwards I went to the library and chose more books including another couple by Sue Grafton. I've been enjoying her 'adventures' of Kinsey Milhone as a private investigator recently - she writes descriptively with intrigue and mystery wound into her stories. I'm also enjoying the fact that each of her books revolve around the same character and place that she lives, getting to know other characters like her neighbour and the local 'eat in' owner.

I've been working on a scrapbook over the past week and am now up to page 4. It's been a struggle to get it going as I seem to constantly find I don't have something I need to complete the page. Yesterday after IC, I popped down to the local hobby shop and picked up some chipboard alphabet packs - it's working out a fairly expensive exercise as sometimes I only use a few of what's in the large pack. Oh well - that's scrapbooking I guess. I am improvising a lot though by stamping (which I'm not all that fond of) and printing out text from the computer so it's not all bad.

Did a little more work on my family history over the weekend too. In the past few months I've had another couple of people make contact with me and it is so interesting finding out a little bit more about families and putting more pieces together in the jigsaw puzzle. I get really excited when another link is put in place.

Bible study is in recess for the school holidays but I'm planning to get ahead on some of the lessons this morning. There's a thick 'pea soup' fog which is due to lift later on so I might get outside if the sun comes out. Meantime I'm just planning to mooch around and see what happens. Have plenty to do - even some housework if I'm that bored - but I doubt that will happen!

MAKING CARDS

On Saturday I attended a pencil watercolour class and made some cards. I've used watercolour pencils before but never very successfully so I was looking forward to some professional help.

The three cards made during the class turned out really well although had I a choice of colour, I wouldn't have chosen brown however it was an exercise which I enjoyed and now feel more confident to do something else using the pencils. I really like the softness that can be created using this medium.

Sunday was also enjoyable. Our bible study group met for the first time in 2010 and we had a great time lunching together then opening God's word - this time looking at Job. It should be interesting as we get into it a little further and I believe God has something to say to each of us in the group from this study. Having recently heard about 3 friends having deaths in their families - two of them relatively young people - I believe now is an opportune time to learn more about this steadfast man of God.

Blessings friend!

WHERE ARE THEY?

I see such beautiful Christmas pictures and photos on many blogs at this time of the year but I wonder where they come from. I've looked around 'the web' and find either stuff that's not suitable or they have royalty or copyright attached. Can someone tell me please 'where are they'?

Meanwhile thought I'd give a gllimpse at the church banners I've been busy finishing during the past week. The first one has been 'hoisted' up and is now hanging in our church with the other two to get hung over the next two Sundays. Unfortunately the quality of the photos is not good - I had them pinned to a curtain to take the shots so the colour has been affected - but it will give a bit of an idea of what they look like.

I've been making 'patches' towards making a 'pioneer' quilt for about 3 years. It has been a slow process as I've really only been using bits and pieces from my fabric stash as well as using applique to make 'pictures' of aspects of our ancestors arrival from England in the mid 1850's to New Zealand. After finally being motivated to get it finished, I've now stitched it together with borders and yesterday spent almost the whole day machine quilting the various blocks. I've a few to go yet but am on the way to being able to finish it. When that's done I'll post a photo.

Today is Wednesday - my day for looking after E6 (before and after school) and L4 (all day) however as it's almost the end of our school year, E6's school has made arrangements for them to be transported to a local high school for a large EOY assembly. To have little 5 and 6 year olds sitting in a massive school hall for the morning seems a bit unreasonable to us so he will not be going. Therefore I will look after the two nippers at their house today instead of mine - so I'd better move myself and get over there so their mum can get herself off to work.

Must run - have a good day!

Blessings all!

MAKING BOOKMARKS

While I'm in the 'crafty' kind of mood I tried my hand at some bookmarks to use as little gifts for my Bible study friends. Although a little time consuming as each stage needs time between to dry - stamping, glittering then finally laminating, its been fun and I've enjoyed trying something new.

Tomorrow night I am doing a scrapbooking class using my grand-daughter E17's 2008 Year 10 Formal pics. I've already seen a sample of the double page layout - she is such a beautiful young lady and her photos will totally be the 'wow' factor. I'll post a pic of it when its done.

Blessings!

Front view shows Bible verse from Psalm 9: 11

Back view showing black lace pattern

MAKING CHRISTMAS CARDS

Thought I'd get ahead of myself and get my overseas Christmas cards made early and save myself on a bit of postage - was fooled - went this morning to post a bundle 'sea mail' before the end of October to ensure they got to their destination in time for Christmas only to find out that that service is no longer available - only parcels may now go by sea! What?? Normal price to send a card o/seas? $1.45 - next week a 'special' Christmas card rate comes in for $1.25. Needless to say I'll wait now till nearer Christmas as it's not going to be any cheaper.

You get caught sometimes don't you? Anyway I've enjoyed the therapy of making the cards!

Have a blessed weekend!

JUST FELT LIKE KNITTING

The last two months of almost inactivity for me kind of 'got to me' a couple of weeks ago and I felt like doing a bit of knitting. I thought that even though I was sitting so much, I could get my hands busy. I don't really mind too much if I don't get enough squares to finish a rug this winter - that's the beauty of knitting squares isn't it? Doesn't matter how long it takes, eventually if you keep it up, there should be enough to put a rug together. I'm thinking I'll need at least 35 to make a smallish size but I'd prefer to do one a bit bigger than the last one I finished a couple of years ago. So... I've finished 12 with another more than half way done. The squares measure 10 inches each way (15 cms) and are so very easy to make.

With double knitting yarn (I think in the US that's Sports) and my needles are 4mm. Start with 1 stitch. Next row increase into that stitch then knit those 2 stitches. Turn. Increase into first stitch and knit across the row. Keep increasing one stitch at the beginning of each row until you have 60 stitches on your needle.

then

Knit 1, slip 1, k1 and pass slip stitch over (psso). Continue knitting till the end of the row. Turn and repeat until you are down to 1 stitch again. Cast off.

See? Easy Peasy as the kids say (or used to).

I can't say I'll post a pic of the finished rug yet as I'm not sure if the warm weather will turn up before I've got enough squares done (I don't knit much in the summer). But here's hoping that at least by the end of next winter I'll be able to show the finished product.

Have a blessed day!

CALLIGRAPHY CLASS THAT WASN'T!

I feel so silly! I got all my bits and pieces ready and left in good time to catch the bus. Although the bus was running behind time at our destination but I got to where the class was being held OK just a few minutes late. On being shown the room being used, I was surprised to find nobody there. I thought they were probably running late like me! LOL

After waiting for nearly 30 minutes I was convinced I had gone on the wrong day. The receptionist seemed to agree with me and felt sure their previous class had been held last week - it's held fortnightly.

So I got back to the bus station and waited 20 minutes for the bus home. Got inside the house and went straight to the class schedule to find out what I'd done wrong. Well - it was the right day - just the wrong time. I had gone for a 1pm start and it actually started at 2pm. I just wish I'd checked that schedule this morning before I left for the bus!

Unfortunately I won't be able to get to the next class as I've a post operative appointment with the Professor that day and as of yesterday, another appointment on the same day to have a DVT scan (deep vein thombosis) - to check for any post operative problems in my leg veins.

So now I'll have to wait another month to go to the class I was so looking forward to today. I guess these things happen - and in fact as I'd taken my knitting with me I got quite a lot of rows done while sitting on the bus. It's not anything terribly exciting but I'll get a photo of what I'm doing when I get a few more squares finished towards a blanket I've decided to make. I made one about 10 years ago and DH loves to snuggle under it if he gets up to watch any sport on the TV during the night. It's still OK but won't hurt to have a 'back up'!

Have a blessed day!

TWO FINISHED STITCHINGS - FRAMED

Grandchildren are Special is a Dimensions design which I bought many years ago as a kit and stitched periodically, but never finished completely as there was always the possibility of another little one coming into the family. Once I was reasonably sure that 6 would be the limit, I finished it off . That was 2 years or so ago and have only just had it framed.




Heirloom Homecoming Sampler, design by Thea Dueck, is my first attempt at multiple stitches in a piece as well as hardanger. I was very nervous about cutting the threads for that but it did seem to be OK once I got the 'hang' of it. I was rather sad I wasn't able to purchase the little heart buttons and the mother of pearl rice beads to finish it off but despite trying a number of places, wasn't able to locate them so just went ahead and had it framed without. For people who don't know what the actual pattern is, they probably won't be missed.

A MOOCHING KIND OF DAY

After the searing heat of the past few days, today has been blessedly much cooler. The temperature did get to about 32C early in the afternoon but later a really strong wind has sprung up which has cooled everything down quickly. What bliss! I just don't handle these hot days very well and far prefer the cooler weather. A friend emailed me that it was -4C in upper New York State - now I'm not saying I want it to be that cold - but the fresh breeze coming in the back door now as I sit typing this, is just wonderful. I'm hoping for a better night's sleep tonight!

I have been busy though, despite the heat. Yesterday I completed an 8" x 8" scrapbook album I've made for my niece to record photos of her new baby and a visit to the shopping centre was successful in finding some little gifts to send to A9, our grand-daughter who lives in Texas and celebrates her birthday in a few weeks time.

Tomorrow I'm helping a friend assemble her wedding invites so there always seems to be something to keep me busy. Even when the heat outside is simply awful, I am grateful that I have somewhere to shelter me from the elements and I am reminded that my God cares for me and supplies my needs - I am so blessed.

BULL BY THE HORNS?

Well - at least scissors cutting thread!

I did it - I 'bit the bullet' as we say here 'down-under'. (In other words I gritted my teeth and did it - even though I was nervous of making a mess of it)

Here's the result.

HEIRLOOM HOMECOMING WIP and other things

Had a really busy but enjoyable weekend. BBQ lunch at North Avoca (NSW Central Coast) with 'Top of the Hill' friends. Rushed back to Sydney to change and head of to Artarmon for an engagement celebration of a nephew. Sunday went to church service and later to another BBQ lunch at Greystanes with friends for a casual bible study afternoon. A very satisfying weekend all round!

Work in progress - report. Heirloom Homecoming Sampler section 2 finished.

Coming up - hardanger. Not at all sure about how to do this - will need to seek some advice I think. Only attempted this stitching once before on a tiny bookmark. This will be a challenge for me.

Next pic should be the finished piece I hope but I'm really enjoying this one even though I am having to use a headband 'blow-fly' type of magnifying goggles over my regular glasses. Not sure how good that is for the eyes generally but will have to persist despite all my best efforts originally to do without it.

Maybe my next project should be a visit to the optometrist to order a new pair of stronger 'close up' glasses!

GIRLS WEEKEND AWAY

The weather looked promising as we set off from Sydney to meet at Peppers at Bowral for ‘High Tea’ at 12.30pm. The drive seemed short as we chatted away the ‘miles’ – we were ready to stretch our legs though once reaching Bowral and after finding a lovely sunny spot outside a coffee shop, relaxed with our lattes and cappuccinos and just enjoyed the atmosphere. A stroll down the main street and we were ready to move on to our anticipated ‘High Tea’. Set in beautiful grounds next to a golf course, the old building had been renovated and was beautifully furnished. We enjoyed an hour appreciating the food and atmosphere.

We left in time to make our check in at Fountaindale Lodge at Robertson, a tiny village further south which had at one time been a Catholic Seminary. The interior was spacious with a large stairway leading to the upper floors. As we ascended the stairs we were bowled over by a number of beautiful stained glass windows which had been preserved. The grounds were large with landscaped gardens and boasted 3 resident peacocks. We spent a leisurely afternoon visiting a local attraction – Fitzroy Falls – and enjoyed a stroll along the few shops which made up the village. Dinner in the evening provided us with a beautiful meal and after retiring to the lounge area, completed the evening by playing Charades!

After checkout in the morning we all drove to Berry on the NSW South Coast, getting there through the Kangaroo Valley. On arrival there, we were surprised to find the temperature had soared to over 30 degrees and for most of us, a quick look through local shops was more than enough in the heat before we stopped for lunch and headed out north towards home again.

For the 20 of us who made up the group it was a great break from the regular, normal activities most of us experience from week to week. For me it was a chance to get away and take time being involved with activities that normally I wouldn’t and generally recharge the batteries! An enjoyable night away!

THE PIN KEEP - Jacaranda Tree

Having finished the design I bit the bullet as it were and decided to try and make a pin keep. Never having attempted one before, or even seen one – except for pictures – I checked out the internet and got a bit of an idea of how to put it together.

Well here’s the finished product. Is there supposed to be a set number of pins around the outside? I have no idea. I just kept putting them in.

I’ve put the cross stitch aside now as I really don’t have any charts for small projects so I’ve started on another pair of socks.

THIS 'N THAT

I can’t believe it’s over 4 weeks since I wrote. It’s not that I’ve been over busy – just cramming a few extras into the past few weeks I guess. Like having my eyes tested. That not only involved going for the appointment, but on finding my eyes were not as good as they once had been, I needed to order new lenses for my glasses. Went to pick them up a few days later and when they were not feeling right had to trail back again. Now that would be fine if the optometrist were around the corner, but travelling 25 kms there and 25kms back took up most of the day! Anyway, that’s finished now and I’m certainly seeing a lot better since I’ve resorted to my specs instead of contacts – after nearly 20 years. I far prefer the contacts, but I guess when they aren’t doing the job well, then the alternative has to be resorted to :-(

I've also done a few other things like helping a friend put away stuff in cupboards after a big house move, and going out for dinner with friends from church. But then that's not really any excuse for not writing is it?

Anyway, I haven’t been too slack and have finished a pair of woolly socks which now are warming my mother’s toes, plus a couple of small cross stitch pieces which I’ll post later. One of them I’m in the process of turning into a pinkeep – a first for me. The other I haven’t decided on yet so for now, I’ll just put the socks up.

LITTLE AUSTRALIAN COTTAGE

I pulled the plastic storage tub out and began rummaging. I really had no idea what I was looking for except that it had to be small and quick enough to complete in a few days. I was tired of the sampler I'd been laboriously working away on for what seemed an age. Amongst some papers and patterns which had been in the tub for years, I came across a piece which I'd torn from a magazine. I'd always promised myself I'd try it out as I really liked the style of this little Australian cottage. I'd done a larger one of a similar house a number of years ago called "The Briars" ( I think the design was by Juniper) and had always intended to stitch this tiny 'look alike'.

Inspired with the finding I set to using a neutral toned linen and chose my own colours from DMC floss instead of using those in the original. I think it has turned out OK and now I'll hunt around for a suitable 'early Australian' looking frame to complete the picture. Anyway this is how it turned out.

As our weather cools off I get the bug to knit. The local church where I’ve been attending a Bible Study group, recently held a ‘Soup and Knit’ night to make knitted squares which would be sewn together to make knee rugs for the elderly. I couldn’t attend that night but promised to try to make a few squares to put along with all the others knitted that night. After not having done any knitting for several months, my fingers certainly told me in a short amount of time that they were suffering from arthritic joints and it was a bit of a shock to find how painful they were after the first couple of attempts. Anyway despite this I managed to get a few squares finished and now hopefully they will be sewn by energetic people to make the rugs.

On reflecting my knitting career of recent times, I remembered that last year I had interspersed knitting jumpers for grandchildren with some tiny baby caps and booties. I really enjoyed making these tiny garments and have done them now for a couple of years in between other projects. They are quick to make and look so cute when they are finished and I love making them in different colours.

The last 12 lots I finished I sent off to a country hospital in New South Wales where they don’t get quite as much support as the large city ones do. I find it’s a really worthwhile thing to do and I know the mums of tiny premature babies appreciate having a cap and booties the right size too, when sometimes they weren’t prepared for an early birth. The real pleasure for me is knowing that my ‘love’ gift will be used without any knowledge of who I am or where the gift came from. Tiny babies - know that coming with this token gift, was my prayer that you will grow healthy and strong, and soon be able to go home with the family who love you.

IT'S SLOW - BUT IT'S COMING

My sampler that is! I really have been pretty slack in the cross stitch area of late but I am also a bit disillusioned with this piece as well. I was so enthusiastic at first to get it started – I loved the pattern and the colours – but I find the Water Color thread so heavy to pull through on the return part of the stitch that it’s become a rather laborious task. I just wish I had tried a piece first in these threads to get a feel of them. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have used them on this larger piece but would have chosen matching threads in cotton floss.

Oh well, too late for that now – I either finish it – or leave it as is – then nothing would be achieved. It probably will look OK finished and framed but at the rate I’m going, it may be a long time before that happens. Meantime, I’m occupying my time with scrapbooking, much smaller cross stitch projects and re-decorating in one of our bedrooms. Not sure which is the most tedious – probably I’d have to say stripping the wallpaper. But somehow I think the redecorating will be finished far sooner than the sampler!